Machine for turning shoes



Dec. 18, 1928.

. W. PROULX MACHINE FOR TURNING sHoEs original Filed Nov. '12. 1925 l D3o c f O Flgll 6 c Imm. IO 8 38 D l s 'i I8 2 a l'!|1. 2g 4 l2 fm MWzzz-: n /4 220 v,"

cs .lll la Patented Dec. 18, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OP'FKE.-Y

WALTER PROULX, 0F NORRIDGEWOCK, MAINE, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHIN-ERY CORPORATION, OIE PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE non TURNING sHons.

Application led November 12, 1925, Serial No. 68,585. Renewed March 5,1928.

This invention relates to machines or des vices for turning shoes or forassisting in the performance of this operation. The invention is hereinshown as embodied in an lexpansible forepart form or upper spreadingdevice especially adapted for use in a shoe turning machine, such forVexample as that disclosed in United 'States Letters Patent No. 706,038,granted August 5, 1902, on application of Andrew Eppler.

In accordance with the usual practice in turning the forepart of a shoewith the aid of a turning machine a. forepart form is employed whichextends within the forepart of the shoe and holds it in position to beoperated upon. The toe of the shoe is held in place against the forepartform throughout the turning operation by means of a turning iron andusually an auxiliary turning implement is also employed which isadvanced to engage the sole of the shoe to give it a preliminary bend orbreak and then recedes as the turning operation progresses. To turn theforepart of a shoe in a machine of this character an operative takeshold of the heel portion of the shoe and by pulling it forward turns theforepart on itself, slipping it olf the form and onto the t-urning iron.It has been proposed to make the forepart form collapsible and toconnect it with the auX- iliary turning implement in such a way thatwhen the latter is advanced into worlr engaging position the form willbe expanded to facilitate the beginning of the turning operation andwhile the turning implement is receding the form will be graduallyrestored to collapsed condition preparatory to receiving the next shoewhich is to be operated upon.

An object of the present invention is to provide an expansible' forepartform or upper spreading device for use in a machine of the type referredtohaving an improved construction and mode of operation whereby theturning of the forepart of a shoe may be still further facilitated.

To the accomplishment of this object one feature of thel inventionconsists in the provision, for use in turning shoes, of a tapering formor upper spreading device adapted to expand to increase its angle o ftaper, and means constantly tending to expand the form. As shown herein,the form comprises two angularly disposed upper spreading arms which arearranged at opposite sides of a horizontally disposed supportingspindlcand the forward ends of the arms are pivoted to the forward endof the spindle while the rear ends of the arms are movable to vary theangle of taper of the form. and are connected with a spring constantlytending to move the arms outwardly. In use the illustrated form. iscontracted somewhat to facilitate the placing of the forepart of a shoethereon, and subsequently a spring functions to urge the tapering sidesof the form outwardly throughout the turning operation independently ofany action on the part of the operator. rlhus, not only is the spreadingaction automatic and independent of the movement of the auxiliaryturning implement, but the form functions to take up the fullness of theupper throughout the entire turning operation so that the portion of theupper which is being turned back upon itself will be held away from theedge of the sole along the forward portion of the forepart as well as atthe ball to insure that the upper will not catch or bind against anyportion of the sole to interfere with or retard the turning operation.As illustrated, operative connections are lprovided between the `formand a movable part of the turning machine for automatically contractingthe form before a shoe is applied thereto but if desired theseconnections may be dispensed with and the form may be contractedmanually as the shoe is being placed thereon by the operator.

The above and other features of the invention will best be understoodfrom a description of the preferred embodiment thereof shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a side elevational view of apor`- tion of the shoe turning machine disclosed in Letters Patent No. 706,038 above referred to, showing the improved shoe form appliedthereto;

Fig. 2 is aplan View, on an enlarged scale, of the shoe formV shown inFig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a View in side elevation of the form, showing also connectionswith the turning machine whereby the form is adapted to be automaticallycontracted.

Referring to the drawings, the illustrated form comprises a supportingspindle 4, a pair of upper spreading lingers 6, 6 whichare arranged atopposite sides of the spindle and 'are movable inwardly and outwardly sothat the form may be contracted and expanded, and a spring-controlledcollar 8 slidable on the spindle 4l and connected by links 10, 10 withthe spreader lingers 6, 6. The form is adapted to be supported in ahorizontal position in the machine of the abovementioned patent and tothis end the cylindrical eX- tremity 12 of the spindle t may be rigidlysecured to the turret l) of the machine. rEhe form, thus supported, isadapted to be used in connection with a turning iron and auxiliaryturning implement such as shown at C and H, respectively, in saidLetters latent' and designated by similar reference cha-racters inFig. 1. The invention is in no wise restricted, however, to use inconnection with turning devices of any specific type.

The upper spreader lingers 6, G are connected to the opposite or forwardextremity of the spindle l by means of pivot studs 14, 14. The links 10,10 are connected by pivot screws 16, 16 with the rear ends of thespreader fingers 6, G and by means of pivot screws 18, 18 with the ears20, 2O at opposite sides of the slidable collar 8. A coiled spring 22,secured at one end to the spindle l and at its opposite end to thecollar 8, occupies a recess 2st in the collar 8 and tends to maintainthe form in fully expanded condition. The spring 22 normally holds thecollar against a suitable abutment (illustrated as a lug 26 on thespindle ll) which determines the outermost position of the spreaderlingers 6, 6. As shown, the spreader fingers are oppositely in clined soas to provide the desired tapering contour of the form. The forwardportion of the spindle el is somewhat flat-tened, 'as shown at 28, tofacilitate the closing or inward movements of the fingers (i, G as theform is being contracted. ln the expanded position of the form thefingers 6, 6 are spread apart sulficiently to adapt the form for use inconnec tion with the largest size and width of shoes to be operatedupon.

rlfhe form is adapted to enter the interior of the forepart of the upperof a shoe to facilitate the operation of turning the fore- Vpart andmeans is provided for automatically contracting the form preparatory tothe placing of a shoe thereon. For this purpose, as shown in Figs. 1 and3, operative connections are provided between the form and a rock shaftc, such as the rockshaft similarly designated in the patent referred to,and Vthese connections,comprise an arm 30, rigidly secured to therockshaft and a suitable cord 32 which is fastened at one end by a bolt3l to the arm 30 and at the opposite yend to the sliding collar 8. andwhich passes over an idle flanged pulley 36, mounted in the forked lowerend of a hanger 38 which is secured to the spindle a. Inapplying theillustrated form to the machine disclosed in the pat-ent beforementioned, the arm 30 may conveniently be substituted for the collar c7of said machine.

ln the operation of the illustrated turning machine, the rockshaft c andthe parts carried thereby are rotated 90 to move the turning iron C andthe auxiliary turning implenient H out of alinem-ent with the form orspreader device to enable a shoe which has been turned to be removedfrom the form and a new shoe to be placed thereon, and subsequently theshaft c is rocked back again to restore the turning implements to normalposition .and into operativev relation to the form.. By connectingtheform with the rockshaft, as above described, the rocking movements ofthis shaft become elli'ective first to slide the collar 8 toward theright in Fig. 2 to contract the form so that the shoe may convenientlyVbe placed thereon and thereafter to permit the spring 22 to function toslide the collar 8 in the opposite direction to eX- pand the form withinthe shoe. As shown in Fig. S, a plurality of holes l0 may be provided inthe arm 30 so that by shifting the bolt from one hole d() to another theconnections may be adjusted to impart different degrees of contractingmovement to the fingers (i, 6 of the form. If desired, however, theabove described connections with the rock shaft c may be omit-ted andthe form may be manually contracted by the operative preparatory toinserting it within the forepart of the shoe or the shoe may be appliedto the form while the latter is fully expanded, in which case theforcing of the shoe upon the form will cause the form to contract untilit accommodates itself to the size and width of the shoe. In any casethe form is more or less contracted and the spring 22 is put und-er moreor less tension whenever a shoe has been placed in position upon theform. The form therefore exerts continuous outward pressure upon theupper of the shoe, independently of any action on the part of theoperator, after the shoe has been placed upon the form.

rllhe operator performs the turning operation in the usual manner bypulling forward the heel portion of the shoe to turn the forepart uponitself so that it is gradually slipped olfl from the form and onto theturning iron C. es the turning operation progresses the form graduallyexpands and the angular positions of the fingers 6, 6 change sothat'outward pressure is exerted upon the shoe upper in a manner mosteffective to hold the upper away from the edge of the sole so that itw'll be impossible for the upper to catch or bind againstV the sole edgevin such a way as to interfere with or retard the turning operation.

It willbe noticed that the arrangement of the spreader lingers 6, 6andthe links 10, l() is such that they operate in effect as togglemembers to .slide the collar 8 in a direction to stretch the spring 22when the form is being manuallyl contracted or is being contracted bythe placing of a shoe upper upon the form. This construction facilitatesthe contraction of the form under the above conditions and, after theform has been contracted and the shoe has been placed in positionthereon, the expansion of the form during the turning of the upper iseffected automatically by means of the spring 22.

The invention having been described, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. For use in turning shoes, a tapering forepart form constructed andarranged to expand to increase its angle of taper, and means constantlytending to expand the form.

2. For use in turning shoes, an expansible form having angularlydisposed work enA gaging members mounted for relative movement to varytheir angular relation, and means constantly tending to produce relativemovement between said members to increase the angle between them.

3. For use in turning shoes, an expansible form adapted to enter theforepart of a shoe and comprising angularly disposed work engagingmembers pivotally mounted at the entering end of the form, and meansconstantly tending to swing said members outwardly to expand the form.

4. For use in turning shoes, a tapering forepart form comprising membersarranged for relative inward and outward angular movements to vary thedegree of taper of the form, and yielding means constantly urging saidmembers outward.

5. For use in turning shoes, an expansible shoe form comprising asupporting bar and laterally: movable upper spreading arms each pivotedat one end to one extremity of the bar for swinging movements laterallyof the bar in opposite directions, and connections between the oppositeends of the arms and the bar tending to swing the arms outwardly.

6. For use in turning shoes, an expansible shoe form comprising asupporting bar and laterally movable upper spreading arms each pivotedat one end to one extremity of the bar for swinging movements laterallyof the bar in opposite directions, connections between the opposite endsof the arms and the bar tending to swing the arms outwardly, and meansfor limiting the outward movement of the arms.

7. For use in turning shoes, an expansible shoe form comprising asupporting bar, arms pivoted to one end of the lbar for swingingmovements laterally of the bar in opposite directions, a block slidableon the bar, links connecting the arms with the block, and means formoving the block to vary the angle of the arms relatively to the bar.

8. For use in turning shoes, an expansible shoe form comprising asupporting bar, upper spreading arms pivoted to one end of the bar forswinging movements laterally of the bar in opposite directions, meansfor connecting the arms to move in unison, and yielding means forforcing the arms outwardly.

9. For use in turning shoes, a tapering shoe form provided withangularly disposed members movable to vary the angle of taper of 'theform, means constantly tending to move said members outwardly toincrease the angle of taper of the form, and means for moving saidmembers inwardly to reduce the angle of taper of the form to facilitatethe placing of a shoe thereon.

l0. In a shoe turning machine of the type having an expansible forepartform, a turning implement normally positioned in operative relation withrespect to the form but movable out of operative relation therewith, andconnections between theV form and the turning implement for contractingthe form c when the turning implement is moved out of operative relationtherewith.

11. In a shoe turning machine of the type having an expansible forepartform and a turning implement normally positioned in operative relationwith respect to the form but movable out of operative relationtherewith, connections between the form and the turning implement forcontracting the form when the turning implement is moved out ofoperative relation therewith, and means for expanding the form when theturning implement is moved into operative relation with the form. y

12. In a shoe turning machine, an expansible shoe form, a shoe turningimplement normally in alinement with the form, a roel;- shaft carryingthe turning implement and capable of being rocked to move it out ofalinement with the form, means for expanding the form, and connectionsbetween the roclshaft and the form for contracting the form when theturning implement is moved out of alinement with the form.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

VALTER PROULX.

